Payton drilled a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left and matched his
season high with 36 points as the SuperSonics posted their fifth
straight victory, an 82-81 triumph over the Lakers.

Payton's go-ahead basket gave Seattle its first five-game
winning streak since it opened last season with six consecutive
victories. Los Angeles had won 14 straight at home.

"It was just a play that we had been running all night," Payton
said. "We know Shaq(uille O'Neal) wants to stay in the paint
and he is not going to come up and contest shots, so we ran a
play with him."

"Those are the kind of games you know someone is going to get
hurt in the end," Lakers coach Phil Jackson added. "We just
missed so many opportunities."

Payton was 5-of-10 from 3-point range and added seven assists
and six rebounds for Seattle, which has won seven of eight since
a season-high five-game skid in late December.

"He is a very good basketball player," said Lakers forward Glen
Rice of Payton. "He saw some things that worked to the advantage
of his team and he continued to keep going to it. He hit a big
shot for them down the stretch."

"I just look around the league and I see that there is Shaq,
Grant Hill and Gary," Sonics coach Paul Westphal said. "I don't
know who is playing any better than those guys. Shaq has been
unbelievable all year but they did not decide to put us on TV
this year, so nobody really knows how good Gary is playing. He
has got to be considered an MVP candidate if he is playing like
that."

After Payton's bucket, Los Angeles had an opportunity to take
the lead. But Kobe Bryant missed a 16-footer from the right
wing and Robert Horry was unable to tip in the ball. After
Bryant was unable to keep a loose ball in play, the Sonics
botched the inbounds pass but the Lakers could not take
advantage.

Shaquille O'Neal had 30 points and 10 rebounds for Los Angeles,
which has dropped two of three after winning 16 in a row. Bryant
added a career-high 14 rebounds.

The Lakers led 79-78 with 2:50 to go following a 19-footer by
Rice. Ruben Patterson knotted the contest 62 seconds later on a
free throw. After missing a pair of jumpers, Rice was fouled
grabbing a rebound. The 87 percent free-throw shooter made just
one to put Los Angeles on top, 80-79.

Seattle missed three jumpers, including a pair of 3-point
attempts by Chuck Person and O'Neal was fouled with 30 seconds
remaining. O'Neal, a 46 percent free-throw shooter, made 1-of-2
and Payton took advantage.

Payton took the inbounds pass and got free off a screen by
Patterson, burying the long jumper for a 82-81 edge. Bryant
appeared to rush his jumper from the right wing and Horry, who
had inside position, was unable to convert the dunk.

"It's my fault," said Harper, who failed to fight through the
screen. "I ran under the screen, I'll take the blame. I don't
have a problem with that. I didn't think that he would take the
3, but he took it and made it. So, I'll take the blame."

"Gary just had a superhuman effort for us and really stepped
up," Sonics guard Brent Barry said. "I played against Gary my
first four years in the league and I'd always respected his
game, but I never really thought he was this good. He really is
one of the true superstars in our league."

After Bryant's momentum carried him out of bounds, Seattle
inbounded the ball. But the pass was inadvertently kicked to
Rice, whose miss on a desperation floater came after the buzzer.

Seattle led 11-4 2:34 into the contest but the Lakers rallied
and trailed just 28-25 after a quarter. Los Angeles took its
first lead of the contest midway through the second quarter when
Rice buried a 3-pointer for a 37-35 edge. O'Neal had 16 points
in the opening 24 minutes.

The Lakers used an 11-2 burst early in the third quarter to
seize a 60-51 lead before Seattle answered by scoring 15 of the
final 17 points of the period.

Seattle forward Vin Baker grabbed 13 rebounds but was held to
three points on 1-of-8 shooting. Seattle won despite shooting
just 40 percent from the field and committing 19 turnovers.

Los Angeles made just 3-of-21 3-point attempts. Bryant and Ron
Harper combined to go 1-for-10 from long range. The Lakers also
failed to score 100 points for the first time in six contests.